U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Makes Major Investment in Web Content Management

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After success of key implementations, makes Percussion CMS available Department-wide

We're so pleased to have demonstrated the value of Percussion through success after success at HHS.

Woburn, MA (Vocus)June 22, 2010

The department of the United States Government responsible for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services has signed an enterprise-wide agreement to make Percussion Software’s web content management platform available for all of its thirteen agencies and hundreds of offices and operating divisions. The adoption of Percussion will help promote efficiency, openness, and transparency while helping HHS improve their interaction with the public.

The agreement follows a history of success using Percussion at HHS. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) was the first HHS operating division to implement in Percussion in 2003, followed by the HHS Office of Secretary sites including Aids.gov, Flu.gov, and HHS.gov/open. Following those successful implementations, Percussion was adopted by a host of additional HHS organizations including the National Cancer Institute, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Government organizations often have demanding requirements for their websites, with numerous audiences, diverse technology investments, and the need for robust security and compliance with accessibility requirements. Percussion helps meet those demands by providing a platform for sourcing, reusing, and syndicating web content in a secure, technology-neutral environment that meets the government’s Section 508 accessibility requirements.

In a recent webinar focusing on web content management and government, Percussion CTO Vern Imrich remarked on the role of web content management. “The traditional view that content management is about ‘create, approve, and publish’ doesn’t reflect the changing nature of the web. It’s really about interaction, and at all of those points of interaction content is at the heart. Did you see the blog post today? I just submitted a suggestion to your website. Someone shared an article with me. Did you see the webcam of the oil spill? All of those interactions are based on content, and with all that content comes the need to manage, reuse, and redistribute it.”

Percussion enables users to source content from inside and outside the organization, apply governance and moderation to web content (including citizen-submitted ideas, review, and comments) and finally deliver it to site visitors in the most effective way possible.

Recent successes at HHS demonstrated Percussion’s value:

HHS used Percussion’s Community Marketing capabilities to launch HHS.gov/Open, meeting President Obama’s Open Government Initiative requirements with a blog, shareable data sets, and a citizen idea submission engine.

Data and web content from the Center for Disease Control were leveraged to rapidly launch the Flu.gov site, informing the public about H1N1 outbreaks and vaccine availability. Flu.gov leveraged syndication to provide embeddable widgets for blogs and websites, with content updated in real-time via RSS.

LetsMove.gov, a website supporting Michelle Obama’s program to combat the childhood obesity epidemic, was developed and launched in just days on the CMS.

“The Obama Administration pioneered the broad use of social media and transparency in his campaign and has made it a signature feature of his administration, responding to the huge demand coming from the public for openness and participation in online government. Percussion has demonstrated that we play an important role in helping fulfill that demand,” said Joe Wykes, President of Percussion. “We’re so pleased to have demonstrated the value of Percussion through success after success at HHS.”

In the United States, other government departments and agencies using Percussion CM System to power their websites include the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

About the United States Department of Health & Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

About Percussion
Percussion provides Web Content Management (WCM) software that helps businesses increase traffic, drive conversion, and improve social interaction. Percussion’s Adaptive Architecture allows non-technical users to take control of content and presentation, provides unparalleled control over how web content is used, and allows organizations to freely integrate third-party applications without being encumbered by legacy technology. Percussion’s web CMS software is used by a broad cross-section of businesses and organizations including Hotwire.com, Virginia Tech University, Kohl's, TiVo, AutoTrader.com, the International Committee for the Red Cross, and the World Wildlife Fund.